ICE detains Filipino convicted in restroom hidden-camera case
Photo from DHS
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A 21-year-old Filipino national convicted of secretly recording people inside a Virginia restaurant restroom has been transferred to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, according to federal officials and local authorities.
Joshua Hombrebueno, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, was turned over to ICE on Oct. 12, following his detention at the William G. Truesdale Alexandria Adult Detention Center, the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has confirmed.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified Hombrebueno in an Oct. 14 news release highlighting recent immigration arrests involving foreign nationals convicted of crimes.
DHS said Hombrebueno, a Philippine national, had been convicted of “two counts of videotaping undressed people without their consent” in Alexandria, Virginia. The agency described him as being in the United States illegally.
Hidden camera in restaurant restroom
The case originated from a Sept. 20, 2025, incident at Gustave Boulangerie & Brasserie, a restaurant in Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood where Hombrebueno worked.
According to media reports, a woman and her young daughter were allowed to use the restaurant’s employee restroom because the public restroom was occupied.
While inside, the woman noticed that the doors of a bathroom vanity were slightly open. She discovered a cellphone concealed inside the cabinet, propped against a roll of toilet paper.
The woman told investigators she reviewed the footage and saw the person who had placed the device inside the restroom.
Hombrebueno was arrested in connection with the recordings, according to ALXnow.
He was sentenced in August 2026 after being found guilty of secretly filming people without their consent.
He received a five-year suspended jail sentence, five years of probation and a requirement to register as a sex offender.
